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How many wings do most adult Hymenoptera have?
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Hymenoptera
An endangered rusty patched bumblebee (Bombus affinis) browsing on a wild bergamot flower.
Most adult Hymenoptera have two pairs of membranous wings, totaling four wings. These wings are typically interlocked, with the smaller hindwings attached to the forewings by tiny hooklets.1
However, there are exceptions within the order. For instance, all worker ants (Formicidae) are wingless, and winglessness also occurs in certain solitary wasps, such as the velvet ants (Mutillidae), as well as in some genera of ichneumons and chalcids.1